Google issued an irate response to Microsoft’s cross-licensing agreement with Samsung, announced early Wednesday, in which Samsung will pay royalties to Microsoft for each Android smartphone sold. “This is the same tactic we’ve seen time and again from Microsoft,” Google said in a statement to TechCrunch. “Failing to succeed in the smartphone market, they are resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others’ achievements and hinder the pace of innovation. We remain focused on building new technology and supporting Android partners.” Microsoft has similar agreements in place with ViewSonic, HTC and Acer and analysts estimate Android pulls in three to five times the revenue that Windows Phone does for Microsoft. Read on for more.

The Redmond-based company issued a public response to Google on its blog on Wednesday afternoon. “We recognize that some businesses and commentators – Google chief among them – have complained about the potential impact of patents on Android and software innovation,” Microsoft’s general counsel Brad Smith and deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez wrote in the post. “To them, we say this: look at today’s announcement. If industry leaders such as Samsung and HTC can enter into these agreements, doesn’t this provide a clear path forward?”

Microsoft also explained that HTC and Samsung were responsible for more than half of all Android phones sold in 2011 in the United States and Microsoft admitted that, while there will be more drama, perhaps this is “the end of the beginning” for an “industry-wide assortment” of legal issues.

Before it’s all said and done all of the Android manufacturers will pay! No reason to be upset. It’s just like driving on a road that has toll booths. If you don’t wanna pay then find another way! Sanding and Google will have to find another way. Maybe Samsung should stick to Bada! LOL! that was a joke! Bada sucks!

1jaxstate1

Why would I be upset. I use a Samsung Focus. I’m just wondering wtf is going on.

Anonymous

Really? Care to bet Motorola won’t pay?

Anonymous

Because Microsoft gives them an offer they can’t refuse. These licensing deals are usually kept behind closed door. So for example, microsoft promises to buy lots of stuff from samsung while they are licensing. Trust me, these companies are making a profit on these deals. But this ends up hurting new guys who enter the market as it creates fear.

So by the end Microsoft will be telling new guys, you can pay 25$ per device on Android and be open to other lawsuits, or pay 25$ for WP7 and be free from lawsuits. Microsoft has done these kind of things in the past.

Anonymous

it’s pretty simple.. MS has the cash to fight these legal battles.. HTC does not.. and to someone like Samsung .. fighting MS will cost more than just giving them a piece of the pie.

Anonymous

HTC isn’t a small shop in China — it has a shit load of cash, it’s parent company has even more cash.

Jim Davis

HTC is one of the biggest manufacturers of WP7 phones. Of course they are going to play nice with Microsoft. Ditto Samsung.

http://www.facebook.com/DarthNicklas Nicklas Lind

“Extort profit from others” and “hinder innovation”? Well, how about inventing your own stuff so you don’t have to steal Microsoft’s and pay them? There’s a reason why Samsung entered this deal. They know they’re using other people’s patents. Google are such pussies, I am really starting to dislike them.

Anonymous

Patents don’t require any knowledge of the “innovations” developed. Calling a patent violation “stealing” is really attributing a purpose to patents which is not there. Patents are not designed to prevent copying, and copying something is not necessary to violate a patent, unlike a copyright. Patents are restrictions on what others can legally do, under the assumption that controlling what they do (what ideas they can use) has some overall net benefit.

Anonymous

Samsung was refusing to pay already for a year, Microsoft has no devastating patent, they are just trying to put a cost to Android. So they worked out a deal, my guess is one where Samsung profits very well.

Microsoft is taking a revenue hit to do these deals so they can secure marketshare, on the original xbox for example they lost 4 billion. Which later on payed off once the xbox 360 came out.

Anonymous

Microsoft’s mobile OS blows and this is the logical continuation of what happens when you have a terrible product.

Alpha0ero

Actually it doesn’t, especially the version released yesterday. It’s as stable or even more so than iOS and has a ton of innovative features.

delusion FTL

See, in the case of Samsung and Acer, they also have significant markets selling windows powered laptops/desktops. Microsoft has significant leverage over them with this. They’re going to get their money either way sort of deal.

If you think for a second that these companies are paying because they actually are doing something immoral then you are ignorant of the entire patent warring going on between companies all over the world. The way the American business system has become it would be impossible for any company to NOT infringe on thousands of garbage but granted patents. It’s too expensive to litigate and jury’s are to clueless to know how to rule on them (usually defaulting to if someone bothered to file they must have a case mentality) As a result large players use it to strangle smaller ones out of profit and often out of business. It’s by far one of the worst dynamics facing us.

Any time you see a company file an unprovoked IP patent claim against a competitor you can safely assume they are worried about the competition’s better product or positioning.

Anonymous

Samsung just needs to stop making WP7 hardware. It wasn’t like there was great profit in them anyways….

mangenius

if you read the new article that 30% of HTC sales were WP7 then you would take that back and STFU.

Or you can tell us how much profit there is in a WP device and back up your claim dipshit

Anonymous

Its probably a rooted version of ICS. And why would Google make their search bar black instead of blue and white? I’ll wait for the official version.

Anonymous

M$ is just greedy as APPLE except they only sue to make money. Instead of competing with Android their taking money away from HTC now trying to get Samsung just because it infringe on their copyrights. M$ is one of the richest company in the world. Their just too damn greedy and ignorant to compete against Android just because their sales was poor.

Anonymous

>Instead of competing with Android their taking money away from HTC now trying to get Samsung just because it infringe on their copyrights.

Did you actually read what you just wrote?

dwinsmith

Fail dude. Maybe calm down before you type next time.

Anonymous

In other words, “WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH”.

Plazmic Flame

Does someone need a WHAAAMBULANCE?

Anonymous

“they are resorting to legal measures…”

end of story.

Anonymous

Microsoft hinder innovation? No, you don’t say?

http://twitter.com/dustbeta Dustin Schultz

Microsoft out-innovates Google any day of the week.

Anonymous

By…..?

Anonymous

By MS getting money from Android OEM’s for these innovations. Any questions?

dwinsmith

One, there are smart enough to make money from something that someone makes. Two, Microsoft actually makes things. Google bought Android as an almost ready to launch product, they did not create it.

Anonymous

Both MS and Apple out innovate the pants off of Google… Google is great for web and search… that’s their thing, we get it.. They did a great job in that arena… I’m tired of their me too development strategy… come up with a new idea or create a new product or new type of product for a change. MS and Apple are real software engineering companies… MS is a web/search development company that happened to hire some software guys on the side to make some money after they heard other people were making money too.

Anonymous

If this is true why is it then that Android is the number one phone OS in the world?

Anonymous

Android is the number one phone OS because it’s FREE and allows OEMs to skip the R&D of making their own OS or paying a hefty licensing fee.

Carriers often make more money on Android phones, so they cram them down consumers throats.

It’s not hard to be number one when you’re free.

Anonymous

About the only thing that’s come out of that waste of a company is lame Kinect crap.

mangenius

I would like to take a moment to call you an idiot. You may continue with your stupidity now

Everytime google takes a hit, they start crying about competition not innovating. They said it about apple, now they’re saying it about microsoft. It’s not their fault your operating system’s existence infringes upon others patents. Do you want them to turn a blind eye and just give you a free pass? Cry me a river.

http://twitter.com/dustbeta Dustin Schultz

Google needs to grow up. Sorry, fact is, nothing they make works. Show me one mature Google product that is functional. That’s right, there aren’t any.

Anonymous

Gmail is pretty good when it’s not doing weird things when connected via Excha-

Oh, never mind.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1001483324 Gerry Quaglia

gmail is excellent.

Anonymous

google search, chrome, maps, and voice search are functional

1jaxstate1

Gmail

Anonymous

Search, Gmail, Maps, Chrome, Calendar are all very well done

Anonymous

Google – stop stealing everyone’s hard work. End of story.

Anonymous

Google should think about how they can provide partners with enough protection so they don’t have to enter this kind of agreement with sharks like MS and apple

http://twitter.com/MrUniq78 Christopher

I don’t exactly see Google leading in innovation. They have basically bought other people’s technology like Android and made improvements. Yea their search is awsome but this recent grumbling by them seems silly. Maybe they see Windows 8 potentially making Honeycomb look inadequate. And I will also say this, I averaged atleast 4 crashes a day on every Android device I’ve owned however WP7..I think it’s crashed maybe once since I’ve used it daily.

http://twitter.com/manozz Gundruk

WP7 is a great platform, people like it. I think they have already sold total of about same units as Android sells in a day. It is very popular. Samsung and HTC should stick to them.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1001483324 Gerry Quaglia

Agreed. I tried Android and found it to be extremely buggy. WP7 is smooth, like iOS.

adams

This is too funny.

adams

Google was complaining that MS was stealing their search results a few months back…. Pot calling the kettle black??

mangenius

Nope. The difference is the idiots here love the google and they can do no wrong. M$ as they like to call them, only wants MONEY! BAD BAD PEOPLE!

http://www.TheGuruReview.net TGR

Fuuny, why are all the manufacturers are getting sued and its not at Googles expense.

Anonymous

bye bye windows… good bye… farewell… so long…

http://MobileGenius.wordpress.com JM

Google is complaining because Microsoft is using the law. Microsoft is complaining that Google is ignoring the law. Google is likely using “innovation” that came from others and Microsoft is getting paid off of that.

Basically, entities worth Billions are fighting other entities worth Billions for Billions while still making Billions from Millions who pay Hundreds to have thousands worth of their personal information harvested to make those with Billions more Billions.

That was fun.

Anonymous

How does paying for using another companies creation, stop innovation?

Must be nice for Google to sit on their “open” mountain top (where they get almost all their profits from search and selling our info) and expect everyone else to just let their creations be used for free as long as Google profits.

They are one of the least innovative companies out there currently. So sad.

Anonymous

Microsoft’s response should have been, “Mind your own f***ing business and quit whining all the time!”.

Anonymous

The only logical counterpoint to Google’s stance that other companies are “stifling innovation” by filing lawsuits against Android OEM’s to protect their patents is that Google be allowed to rip anyone off that they want to and call it innovation.

The injunctions and licensing agreements resulting from these lawsuits go to show that Google and/or the Android OEM’s are in the wrong. To continue to deny that fact makes Google sound like a petulant little child that has just been scolded after being caught red-handed yet still continues to claim “I didn’t do it!”.

I can’t wait to see how WP7 (with Mango and some decent hardware) and iPhone 5 start stripping significant chunks of market share away from Android in the coming year.

I also can’t wait to see how Oracle’s lawsuit against Google turns out. They are in settlement talks which means Google agrees that they violated patents and are willing to pay damages. If this were simply a spurious lawsuit, why wouldn’t Google fight it tooth and nail? Can you guess?

Anonymous

google, u mad?

Shan

No one is catching the obvious…ms has these copyrights because they did innovate. They aren’t stifling competition…they are asking for a relatively fair game to compete in. Google would do the same back to microsoft.